I've never hosted anyone on my poetry blog before and so as the old saying goes, don't knock it, till you try it. I met this really cool granny who writes children's books. She lives over on the west coast and grows a garden just like I do over here on the east coast. In two days she's going to have not one, but two new children's books out so I thought it would be really cool to share some of her poetry with you. She writes poems and songs for her church, Mother’s Day poems for Mom, an assortment for Christmas cards, a few love poems, and a little bit of everything else. She's really cool... you'll love her!
Janice, tell us about your poems.
“Foggy
Morning” is one of my “commuting” poems. For many years, I drove Interstate 5
to and from work, often in the fog, drizzle, or darkness. With a full-time job
and a boisterous family, the quiet drive was my main “thinking” time.
Foggy Morning
The world’s
mysterious in the fog,
When all is
hushed, and no bird sings.
I travel in a
magic sphere,
A bubble blown
of frosted glass.
The mists
recede as I approach,
And close
behind me as I pass:
Unreachable,
untouchable,
Though
everywhere the moisture clings.
Familiar
objects, indistinct,
Shape-shift
between the cones of light
That mark my
path. One half-believes
In trolls and
elves just out of sight.
Perhaps a
fairy castle stands
Upon that hill
so dimly seen -
And if you
listen hard enough,
You’ll hear
the beat of dragon wings.
Janice Lewis Clark Dec 1996
Published November 2005 to January
2006 Westwind (NWSFS magazine)
“Abdication” was also inspired by
commuting—I drove past the Kent Valley, home to the Green River, which was
frequently full of fog in the mornings, even when I was up in the sunshine. I
could see the hilltops poking out of a sea of fog, and imagined climbing
through the mist.
Abdication
When clouds
filled up the valley
And the sky
was misty gray,
I climbed the
hill as far as I could go.
I saw another
hilltop
Like an
island, far away,
Across the
clouds that covered all below.
I felt I was
the captain
Of a mighty
sailing ship,
Or the monarch
of an island in the sea;
But the fog
turned into drizzle,
And the trees
began to drip,
So I scurried
down to have my toast and tea.
Janice Lewis
Clark 1998
(This one is my favorite, Janice.)
No driving involved in “Enticement”.
Perhaps I had been reading (or writing) fairy tales. I thought of the allure of
magic for a young child, but my daughter, who was a new mother, found it
horrifying.
Enticement
Come, mortal child. Come join our dance.
The moon stands high;
The owls give cry;
Your parents slumber in their bed.
Come, lovely child, so young and fair.
I’ll weave a garland
For your hair.
Why sleep when you can play instead?
Come.
You shall have a silken gown,
A golden ring with runes writ round,
Soft silver slippers for your feet,
Delicious honey cakes to eat.
The fairy queen will welcome you,
And share her cup of morning dew.
Come.
Cold iron protects the cot all ‘round
But words slip through, though barred
the door.
The child is up and out and gone,
The small bed empty evermore.
Janice Lewis Clark 05-17-03
Published in
NWSFS magazine “Westwind” March 2010
Bio:
Janice Clark lives on wooded
acreage in the Pacific Northwest, where the fog drifting over the coastal hills
could easily conceal dragons or other mystical creatures. She writes mostly
children’s or YA fantasy and science fiction.
The Hall of Doors fantasy series relates the adventures of
the cat, Princess Buttermilk Biscuit, and her girl, Sammy, who climb a moonbeam
to another world.
Fairy Gold is a “prequel” to
the Healer’s Apprentice novels, the author’s current work in progress.
Author’s website: www.janiceclark.net
Author’s blog: http://www.teawiththeblackdragon.blogspot.com/
Goodreads, Smashwords and Linked
in pages under construction
